Middle-class, reasonable, not extravagant retirement plans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This recent article in the Post is relevant to this topic:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/18/senior-care-costs-too-high/

Makes me worried about my parents. They live in a different area but don’t really have enough saved. Dad is finally retiring at 70 but may still work part time. They sold their house a couple years ago but for various reasons didn’t make much money from it, they rent in an over 55 community which I guess they can afford now but not sure long term. No long term care insurance. I suspect things will be ok until they’re not.

Most people don't need long term care--and if they do it's often a relatively short stay. Medicare covers 100 days for many conditions (though not dementia). If they don't have many assets and do need care they would likely become Medicaid eligible. Only about 10% of people over 65 have long term care insurance.

[Anonymous]

I treat my Roth IRA as my long care insurance. It can be spent tax free quickly at the end of life. Until then it grows and grows. If not spent it can get passed on to my heirs with fewer taxes, however there are rules to follow that make it a bit of a head ache tax wise.

[Anonymous]

My parents had modest pensions. In the end, medical expenses drained their savings until they ended their time in non-profit facilities that weren't great but were OK.

My spouse and I don't have pensions and will keep working until we can't. We have retirement savings of a couple hundred thousand dollars. I expect we're on a similar trajectory as my parents, which is OK.